China vows to work for "peace and stability" in the South China Sea as the Philippines accuses them of undermining it

SINGAPORE - Defence Minister Liang Guanglie on Sunday vowed that China would work for "peace and stability" in the South China Sea amid renewed tensions with other claimants to islands in the potentially resource-rich area. "China is committed to maintain peace and stability in South China Sea," Liang said in a speech at a high-level forum in Singapore also attended by counterparts from the Philippines, Vietnam and other claimants to the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos. "The situation in the South China Sea remains stable," said Liang, the first Chinese defence minister to attend an annual Singapore conference known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. "Freedom of navigation in this region has never been impeded," he said. China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have laid claim to overlapping sections of the territories, which are believed to hold major oil an...